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Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos (Found 1992 TV Special)
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos is a 1992 Australian television special showcasing home movies deemed too sexually explicit to air on ''Australia's Funniest Home Video Show''. Due to complaints from the late Kerry Packer, it was canceled before it could finish airing (in a similar manner to Turn-On), and hasn't surfaced in its complete form until an August 2008 reairing. Background Australia's Funniest Home Video Show premiered in 1990, and was similar in concept to the 1989 American special (and later series) America's Funniest Home Videos; viewers would send in amateur-shot videos that were unintentionally humorous, and the video deemed the "funniest" by the studio audience was awarded a prize at the end of the show. The producers often received racy or risqué videos that couldn't be included into the program due to its family-friendly nature; however, since the show's policy stated that videos sent in by viewers couldn't be sent back, videos that didn't make it to the program were still kept by the station. The producers decided to compile these videos into a one-off special aimed at an adult audience. It differed from Australia's Funniest Home Video Show in more than just the content of the videos. The special had a different opening, a modified version of the Australia's Funniest Home Video Show theme song and a slightly modified set. It was hosted by Australian radio personality Doug Mulray. Due to the difference in content, the show aired at 8:30 PM and was preceded by a short message warning viewers of the show's content and informing them of the fact that it was a one-off special that was different from Australia's Funniest Home Video Show. Content The special followed the same structure of Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, in which the videos were shown in short blocks, interspersed with humorous monologues by Mulray, who wrote all of them himself. Mulray often poked fun at the content of the videos, which he described as "The most sensational collection of home videos since Rodney King nicked out for a pizza recently." Mulray also did humorous voice overs as the videos were shown, similar to Lisa Patrick's on Australia's Funniest Home Video Show. According to Wikipedia, the content of the videos included shots of animal genitalia, humans or animals humorously engaging in sexual intercourse, people who get accidentally and humorously disrobed, and other situations that often relied on ribald humour, including a child grabbing a kangaroo's testicles, a man lifting a barbell with his penis, a man getting his head squeezed between an erotic dancer's large breasts, an elderly woman removing an envelope from a stripper's undergarments with her dentures, two people running into water with flaming pieces of toilet paper hanging from their buttocks, and two people filmed having sex in the middle of a park. Cancellation "We apologize for this interruption. Unfortunately, a technical problem prevents us continuing our scheduled program for the moment. In the meantime, we bring you a brief, alternative program." —Nine Network announcer, during the technical-difficulty card. While at a diner, then-Nine Network owner Kerry Packer was informed of Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos and its content by some friends. He tuned in to TCN-9 to watch it, and was so offended by its naughtiness that he picked up a phone, dialed the studio operators and screamed quote: "Get that **** off the air!" The special was immediately pulled during a commercial break due to a "technical problem", and in order to fill out the remaining airtime, Nine showed repeats of the American sitcom Cheers in place of the remainder of the special. Bert Newton commented in 2008, "message was true; Technically it's very difficult to keep a show on air with Mr. Packer on the phone, yelling at you." Although the same bumper and announcement interrupted the show during every broadcast across Australia, it occurred in different parts of the program depending on the area it was airing in, due to time differences. In Melbourne and Brisbane, the station simply started airing an episode of Cheers after a scheduled commercial break. In other areas, the last part of the show broadcast was of Mulray giving a monologue about "bosoms" or the aforementioned clip of a child grabbing a kangaroo's scrotum. The show was cancelled before it was scheduled to air in Perth, and thus its Nine Network affiliate showed a brief message mentioning that the special won't be aired, before beginning an episode of Cheers. Despite Packer's objections to the series' content, it was popular among viewers. The special was recorded to a record studio audience. After the announcement, Nine reportedly received "thousands" of phone calls from viewers, with 65 percent of callers upset with the program being pulled, in contrast to the 60 callers who called in during the show's broadcast, complaining about the show. Viewers were generally bewildered by the sudden interruption and the cut to Cheers, not knowing about the show's cancellation until it was widely reported by the Australian media outlets the next day. Aftermath The day after Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos aired, a furious Packer showed up at Nine's headquarters. He held meetings in which he loudly berated Nine's managers and censors, referring to the program as "disgusting and offensive s---." Mulray and many of the staff who were involved with the creation of the special were fired, and Mulray was banned for life from Channel Nine. On his radio show the next day, Mulray commented, "I am the first man in Australian history to be pulled off by Kerry Packer." Rebroadcast In 2008, a full copy of the show was located by Nine's head of factual television. It was aired in its entirety at 8:30 PM on August 28, 2008 - one week short of sixteen years after the incomplete original airing, and at the same timeslot as the original 1992 broadcast. Promoted as "the show Kerry Packer didn't want you to see", it featured commentary from Bert Newton. (Packer died in 2005, and Mulray refused Nine's request to host the special). The special was interrupted by the Channel Nine bumper and "technical difficulties" announcement 36 minutes in, cutting to the Cheers opening credits before resuming to a monologue by Newton and the latter part of the special that never aired. However, portions of Mulray's monologues (including jibes about child obesity) had to be cut from the special in order to meet community standards that did not exist in 1992. Videos File:Doug_Mulray_-_Australia%27s_Naughtiest_Home_Videos_(Complete)|The completed version of Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos before the Cancellation, later it was revived on 2008. File:Fastest TV Cancellation Ever? Shortest TV Run RebelTaxi|RebelTaxi video on Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos. Category:Lost TV Category:Found Media Category:Lost Recordings of Real Incidents